Another Tom Scott cartoon

Today’s Tom Scott is worth discussing.

A lot of the voters regard Winston with some affection – “at least he’s a character” etc. And Winston does have an engaging personality.

However I implore people to remember the other side to Winston. Over a decade he has made statements he can not support which in some cases have destroyed people’s careers. And he has never ever apologised once for these. Real people get hurt, not just politicians (who are somewhat fair game).

The two New Zealanders Peters accused of being Saddam’s henchmen were defamed in a terrible way. If Peters was believed their lives could be at risk. And he has not provided a shred of evidence. It is obvious he got it wrong in this case, but refuses to say so. These two New Zealanders deserve better.

So remember when people talk about voting NZ First, and say “Oh that Winston, he’ll keep them honest” about two innocent NZers who got accused of almost being modern day Nazis, and won’t even have Peters set the record straight.

And as for the other part of the cartoon, this is what I think disturbs so many people. The lack of empathy for the police officers, by the person they were serving. The court will determine if their actions were appropriate or not, but I think it galls many that she has not even comet out and said “The legal system has to go through its process, but I would just like to express my regret that these fine officers have got into this predicament through their desire to serve me”.

I don’t believe the PM is legally responsible for the motorcade. I don’t think it is fair to blame her for what happened. However I do think it is appalling that she has not expressed any support at all for the Police who may have made a mistake, but an honest one in trying to serve her. I know many of the DPS and they are without exception in my experience great people, absolutely dedicated to their jobs. And I know how galling it has been for them not to have their loyalty returned.